CII-3A Basketball Rules

2025-2026 Season

1. Division of the League

1. The League consists of one division, per grade level and gender. Each team completes a round robin regular season.

2. Overall League standings determine playoff games. The overall season record of each team determines the championship brackets. The championship bracket comprises the top eight teams and the consolation bracket comprises the remaining teams.

2. Composition of Teams

1. Per Catholic Council II-3A by-laws, all players must be full-time students at their respective schools. A player reaching his / her 15th birthday prior to December 1 is ineligible for both varsity and junior varsity teams. No CCD students are allowed to play.

2. Boys’ and Girls’ basketball consists of three playing levels: 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. If a school in Council II-3A fields a basketball team at any of the three levels, it must participate in League play.

3. Only 5th through 8th grade student-athletes will participate in interscholastic play. If necessary, fourth grade student-athletes may be used and must be indicated on the original team roster.

d.  On teams with less than eight students at a grade level, designated players from the prior grade level may be played up on a rotating basis and remain on their grade level team. This rotation schedule must be submitted prior to the start of scheduled league games and distributed to each school’s athletic director. Additionally, no more than five players may be played up at a time during the basketball season.

5. A player must play at or above the grade level in which he / she is enrolled. Once a player moves from a lower grade level team to a higher grade level team, he / she must remain at the higher grade level for the duration of the season. A player may move to a higher grade level of competition during the season, but may not move to a lower grade level of competition, even if he / she is enrolled in the lower grade in school at the time. No player may be a member of more than one school basketball team at the same time. Any school that uses a player not listed on their team’s final roster regardless of the player’s grade level will cause that team to forfeit all games that player was involved in.

6. A basketball team must have between eight and eighteen members. A school team will split to create an additional team when its roster reaches eighteen student- athletes.

3. Onset of the Season

1. Once team members are determined, a roster must be immediately submitted to the athletic director. All team rosters shall be forwarded to the basketball chairperson prior to the first scheduled league game. Team rosters shall reflect the name, jersey number and grade level of all student-athletes.

2. Girls’ and Boys’ basketball practices may begin on November 1 with the following limitations. 8th grade Girls’ basketball practice may only begin after the volleyball championship game. 7th and 8th grade Boys’ basketball practices may only begin after the last football championship game.

3. Players may participate in summer sports camps as long as such camps are open to the whole school and are part of a summer school program.

4. The athletic director or his / her designee must attend the basketball scheduling meetings arranged by the president of the board of athletic directors. Completed school calendars should be used at scheduling meetings to avoid conflicts with other school programs. Meetings are held in September / October.

5. After the first athletic directors’ meeting following the basketball scheduling meeting, the athletic  director must  sign  and  submit a complete  and  accurate schedule of games to his / her principal. Copies of the finalized schedule are forwarded to the athletic directors.

6. Final seeding of regular season play determines playoff sites.

7. The basketball chairperson is responsible for securing game sites, keeping accurate records of scores, scheduling game officials, and apprising them of League rules, securing playoff sites and times prior to the start of the regular season games, and providing trophies.

4. Schedules

1. Each school will provide the League a list of all dates and times they will be able to play home games and any dates they will not be able to play either home or away games (for any conflict such as Confirmation or other school related events). This list should be supplied to the League at the opening meeting held in September. The League will then send out a season schedule as soon as possible identifying all game days, sites, and times. It is each school’s responsibility to review each schedule for any conflicts and report them to the Leagues’ chairperson as soon as possible.   In the event a school must change a scheduled game, that school’s Athletic Director only must first notify their scheduled opponent and the league at least 48 hours in advance. It is the home team Athletic Director’s responsibility to reschedule the game (regardless of who cancels the game) and notify the league of the new date. We recommend that both teams try and reschedule this game at the time of the cancellation. COACHES ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CANCEL AND / OR RESCHEDULE GAMES ON THEIR OWN.

5. Uniforms

1. Each school must provide uniforms for their players. These uniforms must have shirts with legible numbers on them.

2. Any material (such as spandex or tee shirts) that is worn under a uniform must be of the same color as their uniform.

3. A referee will be able to have any player in question remove the article in question before they will be permitted to enter the game.

4. In the case both schools have the same color uniforms it will be the Home Team’s responsibility to supply and wear a different jersey or pinnie.

5. All players in uniform are not allowed to wear jewelry of any kind while in a game or on the bench. The referees will enforce this rule.

6. Program Guidelines

1. Practices are not to exceed eight hours per week.

2. The regular season must be completed by March 1st. Playoffs shall begin no earlier than three days after the completion of the regular season.

3. There should be no more than three games scheduled per week, including non- conference games. Larger schools will need flexibility because of the availability of gym time.

4. Each school team is allowed to play in a maximum of two leagues but may not exceed the game limit rule between the two leagues.

5. Schools without gyms will play all of their games away or secure a gym to hold home games.

6. 7th and 8th grade games should start no later than 7:30pm when followed by a school day and no later than 8:00pm when followed by a non-school day. 5th and 6th grade games should start no later than 6:30pm when followed by a school day and no later than 7:00pm when followed by a non-school day. Sunday games should be avoided.

7. Running up the scores, which includes leaving starters in the game, using breaking passes, or continuing to press, is not permitted at any grade level.

8. Win / Loss standings are only published for 8th  grade teams.

9. The following are the guidelines for game participation at each level:

• 6th grade: 30 games plus 1 tournament
• 7th grade: 30 games plus 1 tournament
• 8th grade: 35 games plus 2 tournaments

10. Objectives change at each grade level as follows:

• 6th grade: Instructional:  Equal playing time for all.
• 7th grade: Instructional: Guaranteed a certain amount of playing time. The minimum amount of time a 7th grader should play is approximately one quarter.
• 8th grade: Competitive: All players who are dressed and  fully eligible to participate in the basketball game are required to receive “meaningful playing time”.  Meaningful playing time is defined as playing a player for an amount of time they can learn, grow, and make a meaningful contribution to the game in which they are participating. Playing a player to simply say that they “entered the game” is not an acceptable amount of playing time.

11. The official score book should be recorded by an adult, if possible, and all referees should sign this record, if requested.

12. An adult should actively supervise any student / child who is in charge of running the scorers’ table.

7. Games

1. The Home team will be required to supply the following for all home games;

1. Game Ball, which will be approved by the referees.
2. Timekeeper who will be qualified to handle the clock and scoreboard.
3. Scorekeeper who will sit at the scorer’s table with the official scorebook and a set of the Council II 3A current rules.
4. Game Results: Each Home School must email in the scores of their games to the league official within two days. This applies to 8th grade Girls and Boys only.  Email:  stavrault234@gmail.com

8. Game Rules: IHSA rules will be enforced with these exceptions.

2. Minimum warm-up time between games is five minutes.

3. 6th and 7th grade games consist of four 6-minute quarters with one minute between quarters.  8th grade games consist of four 7-minute quarters with one minute between quarters.  Half-time is 5 minutes.  Over-time periods are 3 minutes each.

4. All over-times regardless of grade level will be three minute periods with a jump ball starting the over-time period.

5. The clock stops on all whistles.

6. Each team is allowed four time-outs.  During each overtime, each team is allowed one additional time-out.

7. Free Throw Rule Change: (2025-2026 Season)

                               Two free throws are awarded for non-shooting fouls (eliminates one-and-one foul shots).

                               Team fouls set by quarter instead of by the half. Teams reach the Bonus when the

                                opponent commits 5 fouls in each quarter (replaces 1-and-1 bonus after 7 fouls per

                                half  & 2 free throws after 10 fouls per half). Team fouls reset at the end of

                                each quarter.

8. The 6th, 7th  and 8th  grade Boys’ teams must play with a regulation men’s basketball (29.5).  All other teams use a regulation women’s basketball (28.5).

9. Press rules are as follows:

6th grade:         Press allowed only in the last two minutes of the 2nd and 4th quarters. A team is not allowed to press at all if it has a lead of 10 POINTS OR MORE. If a team has a 15 point or more lead, they may not defend outside the 3 point line (stay in the circle).

7th grade:         Press allowed only in the 2nd and 4th quarters. A team is not allowed to press at all if it has a lead of 10 POINTS OR MORE. If a team has a 15 point or more lead, they may not defend outside the 3 point line (stay in the circle).

8th grade:              Press allowed the entire game.A team is not allowed to press if it has a lead of 15 points or more. If a team has a 20 point or more lead, they may not defend outside the 3 point line (stay in the circle).

• A warning will be issued for the first violation of the press rules.  Each subsequent violation is an indirect technical to the head coach.

10. 3 Point Shot:

• Three points will be awarded to any shot made outside the three-point line which is 19.9 feet from the center of the basket.
• It is each school’s responsibility to have their floor marked properly for this rule.  (Please make sure this is done prior to your first game of the season so as not to cause any confusion.)
• If there is not a solid line on the court at both ends, the 3 point shot will not be used.

11. IHSA Rules will be used for all games where a CII-3A rule does not exist.

9. Technical Fouls

1. All technical fours are two shot fouls and also considered a personal foul on a player.

2. All technical fouls, whether on a player or coach, or possibly a spectator are considered to be team fouls.

3. Two direct technical fouls on a player or coach will result in the automatic ejection of the person involved for the next two games.

4. If a player, spectator, or coach is ejected from a game, he/she will then be suspended from playing, viewing, coaching in the next two Council II-3A  regular season or playoff games at that level. The suspended player, spectator, or coach is not to be in the building or on the grounds where the game is being played.

10. Referees

1. The League will schedule referees for all games.

2. They should be wearing official clothing and be current on Council II 3A League Rules and current IHSA rules.

3. Referee fees this year are $35 per team ($38 for 8th grade playoffs). Referees are NOT to be paid at games. A bill will be generated and distributed to respective athletic directors during the season and at the conclusion of the season.

4. In the event that only one referee shows up, then that referee will be paid $25 per game per team. You must notify the commissioner when a referee does not show up.

11. Protests

1. If a team wishes to file a protest it may do so on any rule infraction (judgment calls cannot be protested). The protest must be in written form and sent to the League chairperson within 24 hours along with a $10 protest fee. Both coaches and referees will then be required to submit a report and representatives of other schools not involved will rule on the outcome. If the protest is not allowed, the fee will be forfeited to the League.

12. Awards

1. All 8th grade teams enter the post-season tournament and are seeded according to their finish during the regular season. The first place teams in the tournament will be awarded a team trophy.

13. Forfeits

1. There is a 15 minute forfeit time after the start of the scheduled game time, or 15 minutes after the previous game ends (please use your discretion in the case of bad weather). Also, if a school is unable to field a team with 5 eligible players, they must forfeit their game. If a team does forfeit a game, they will be responsible for paying the League a $66 forfeit fee per game, payable to the League Chairperson, which will go to cover the cost of referees. At no time should any team pay the Referee’s any money on site.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

CII-3A Basketball Coordinator: Kyle Aksamitowski (kaksamitowski@olph-il.org)